Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front

Molly was the hit of our Christmas week viewing. We had a mixed household - two girls, ages 8 and 10; their dad; me (50+); and great grandma. I'm giving the movie its excellent rating not simply because it's so highly enjoyable (and thought-provoking), but also because it held the interest of viewers with an age range spanning eight decades. How often can you say that? I didn't know what to expect (the two young viewers are American Girl fans) but found myself drawn to the story, and moved by it. The screenwriter and director have done a wonderful job of capturing both time (World War II) and place (middle America). There is a lovely mix of poignant moments and lighter scenes. Molly Ringwald surprised me with the depth of her portrayal, and the young actors are a pleasure to watch. The movie is never preachy, nor is it sugar-coated. I won't give away the final scene, but will say that during it our audience's two youngsters and their dad gave each other a spontaneous hug.

i loved the movie i thought out of them all that Emily was the best actor. I loved the script too. i can't wait to find out what the next American girl movie is about. I like the personality between each actor. i like the special effects. i think that this is the best American movie ever. i haven't read all of the molly books but i can't wait to read them.i watched this movie with my family and everyone enjoyed it. I would recommend this movie to anyone. I hope that everyone else that sees it likes it like i do. I do agree with the rest of the comments that other people wrote. Over all i loved this movie and i think that everyone should watch it.

We watched this with our 7 and 4 year olds and found it a very good family movie that was enjoyable to watch even though it dealt with very weighty topics.

I found myself explaining aspects of war to the kids, introducing very current topics as at the time of this writing the United States is at war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I felt this movie helped give an appropriate introduction of weighty topics such that the kids can understand a bit more about their world without being thrown into depression or overwhelmed with things they can't understand.

The movie also illustrates the value of persistence, hard work, studying, reading, being polite and considerate, altruism, compassion, helpfulness, and not giving up hope. All of that in such a way that you hardly notice; there's never a sense of preaching or proselytizing.

The acting is TERRIFIC... Molly's teacher does an amazing job of period acting, Emily plays her part well and Molly herself is done in a style that is rare in American cinema; a complete contrast to Samantha.

That being said I liked the character of Samantha better and there a few flaws in the movie. I have not read the books, so I'm judging the movie entirely on its own merits and vs Samantha which was the only other movie in this series that we've seen.

Overally hurray for this movie and the series.

This movie was pretty good overall. The story was poignant, the messages on friendship and doing your best were really good, and the acting was...well...it wasn't awful. Some of Mrs. McIntyre's lines sounded really forced and often the message was on the heavy-handed side, but the charm of the movie outweighs all these flaws. Molly was a pretty good character, but Emily stole all the scenes they were in. Emily and Mr. McIntyre were the best two characters, but the other ones were pretty cute too.

Molly and the other characters learned about adversity and how to overcome it and this is a good message for everyone to learn. The production values were awesome too--they really captured the essence of the era. And the movie clips really helped put what was going on in the world in perspective. This movie is good for the whole family but the adults will have to forgive some of the dialogue for its obviousness.

I am unfamiliar with the series of "American Girl" books, so I viewed this film strictly on its own merits, just to see how accurately it depicts the American home front of World War II. Believe me, it does so astonishingly well. Frankly, I did not expect much from such a modest, unheralded release, but "An American Girl on the Home Front" is a sincere effort that should shame the shallow-minded producers of Hollywood rubbish. The screenplay is convincing, the performances and direction are uniformly excellent, and the sense of period is wonderfully captured, with evocative props, staging, and costumes. The people on screen seem utterly real instead of cardboard stereotypes, and the plot kept me guessing. I genuinely felt for these characters - even bringing tears to the eyes - and the film made me wish for a simpler, more innocent time than what we experience today. Watch this film, and grieve for a long-lost America that will never be again.